This chapter examines the internal political ecology of Kiev between the 1860s and early 1900s, in the process unearthing rather different patterns of political mobilization indicated in previous ...
More

This chapter examines the internal political ecology of Kiev between the 1860s and early 1900s, in the process unearthing rather different patterns of political mobilization indicated in previous literature on Russian urban politics. It focuses on the intense conflicts that emerged as Kiev residents debated how best to govern the city and struggled to define the proper place of the southwestern borderlands in the empire. In its political and associational activities, the city's new capitalist elite challenged the nationalizing vision associated with the Little Russian idea. Capitalist Kiev's beau monde prided itself on its cosmopolitanism, welcoming all men who had proven their business acumen; however, it showed limited interest in the welfare of the city's working classes. In response, an emergent class of populist politicians, some of whom can be traced directly to the Little Russian lobby, formulated a harsh critique of the capitalist city fathers' apparent self-interest.Less

Nationalizing Urban Politics

Faith Hillis

Published in print: 2013-11-07

This chapter examines the internal political ecology of Kiev between the 1860s and early 1900s, in the process unearthing rather different patterns of political mobilization indicated in previous literature on Russian urban politics. It focuses on the intense conflicts that emerged as Kiev residents debated how best to govern the city and struggled to define the proper place of the southwestern borderlands in the empire. In its political and associational activities, the city's new capitalist elite challenged the nationalizing vision associated with the Little Russian idea. Capitalist Kiev's beau monde prided itself on its cosmopolitanism, welcoming all men who had proven their business acumen; however, it showed limited interest in the welfare of the city's working classes. In response, an emergent class of populist politicians, some of whom can be traced directly to the Little Russian lobby, formulated a harsh critique of the capitalist city fathers' apparent self-interest.